Targeted operation: Army chief vows to purge Karachi of all mafias
Gen Raheel directs intelligence agencies, Rangers to expose perpetrators of recent targeted killings
Gen Raheel directs intelligence agencies, Rangers to expose perpetrators of recent targeted killings. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI:
Army chief General Raheel Sharif, who flew into the metropolis from Bahawalpur on Tuesday, has vowed that the ongoing ‘across the board and indiscriminate’ targeted operation against criminals will continue till the elimination of ‘all mafias’ from Karachi.
“We will continue to work with the people and the government to finish all mafias,” he said during a visit to the Corps Headquarters in Karachi on Wednesday. Corps Commander Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar and Sindh Ranger’s Director General Maj Gen Bilal Akbar briefed him on the operational preparedness, Karachi operation and overall security situation in the city.
According to the Twitter feed of Maj Gen Asim Bajwa, the chief military spokesperson, the army chief said the Karachi operation was bringing relief in terms of reduction in incidents of targeted killings and extortion.
Gen Raheel said restoring peace in Karachi was a top priority as it would help revive economic activity in the country and bring relief to the people of the city. He expressed his satisfaction over intelligence input and progress so far achieved in the operation.
The army chief also appreciated the efforts of law enforcement agencies, including Rangers, for ensuring peace during last week’s by-election in NA-246.
Gen Raheel’s visit came days after Sabeen Mahmud, the director of The Second Floor (T2F) café, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in upscale Defence neighbourhood of Karachi, while the trip coincided with the targeted killing of an assistant professor of Karachi University, Dr Waheedur Rehman, in FB Area.
Gen Raheel said the recent incidents of targeted killings showed a certain pattern. “The latest pattern of killings in Karachi indicates a design, which needs to be checked,” he said and directed the intelligence agencies and Rangers to “trace out, apprehend and expose the perpetrators”.
On Monday, Maj Gen Bilal Akbar told a high-level security huddle chaired by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan in Islamabad that violence had gone down by 50 per cent in Karachi since the launch of the surgical operation in September 2013.
He claimed that the law enforcement agencies had successfully restored peace in Karachi. “The months-long crackdown against criminal elements in Karachi has resulted in a significant reduction in the crime rate in the metropolis,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 30th, 2015.
Army chief General Raheel Sharif, who flew into the metropolis from Bahawalpur on Tuesday, has vowed that the ongoing ‘across the board and indiscriminate’ targeted operation against criminals will continue till the elimination of ‘all mafias’ from Karachi.
“We will continue to work with the people and the government to finish all mafias,” he said during a visit to the Corps Headquarters in Karachi on Wednesday. Corps Commander Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar and Sindh Ranger’s Director General Maj Gen Bilal Akbar briefed him on the operational preparedness, Karachi operation and overall security situation in the city.
According to the Twitter feed of Maj Gen Asim Bajwa, the chief military spokesperson, the army chief said the Karachi operation was bringing relief in terms of reduction in incidents of targeted killings and extortion.
Gen Raheel said restoring peace in Karachi was a top priority as it would help revive economic activity in the country and bring relief to the people of the city. He expressed his satisfaction over intelligence input and progress so far achieved in the operation.
The army chief also appreciated the efforts of law enforcement agencies, including Rangers, for ensuring peace during last week’s by-election in NA-246.
Gen Raheel’s visit came days after Sabeen Mahmud, the director of The Second Floor (T2F) café, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in upscale Defence neighbourhood of Karachi, while the trip coincided with the targeted killing of an assistant professor of Karachi University, Dr Waheedur Rehman, in FB Area.
Gen Raheel said the recent incidents of targeted killings showed a certain pattern. “The latest pattern of killings in Karachi indicates a design, which needs to be checked,” he said and directed the intelligence agencies and Rangers to “trace out, apprehend and expose the perpetrators”.
On Monday, Maj Gen Bilal Akbar told a high-level security huddle chaired by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan in Islamabad that violence had gone down by 50 per cent in Karachi since the launch of the surgical operation in September 2013.
He claimed that the law enforcement agencies had successfully restored peace in Karachi. “The months-long crackdown against criminal elements in Karachi has resulted in a significant reduction in the crime rate in the metropolis,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 30th, 2015.